Adjustable outdoor cooking grill



0a. 10, 1961 I. F. ROSS ETAL 3,003,494

ADJUSTABLE OUTDOOR COOKING GRILL Filed March 29. 1957 INVENTURS l7 RENEF ROSS ORDON A. LAMB 5 G United States Patent invention relates to anoutdoor cooking grill structure which is especially adapted for use overan open the.

The principal object .of this invention is to provide a lightweightoutdoor :grill structure which can be erected dismantled very quicklyand easily and which, in its dismantled state, has a compactness "forstorage 'or for transportation.

Another principal object of this invention to :to provide an outdoorgrill :structurewhich be adjusted to regulate the amount of heatnsed forthe cooking of the food and further, .to correct for any unevenness orslope in the ground.

Further, it is another important object to provide a .grill structure asaforesaid which :is extremely stable in it erected state and can be.used with :the least risk of harm over an :openfire.

:It is another object of this intention to provide an :out- 19 igrill asaforesaid which is very simply constructed, thereby greatly reducing the.eostof manufacture, and furthe r,;to provide an extremely sturdy anddurable outdoor grill structure which has a very pleasing appearance.

,A princ pal e turecf this invent-ion :resides in provid- .ing anoutdoor grill structure of two :separate interlock ing components, onecomponent comprising a grill member having arm-members hinged thereto at.oppositeends :and being foldable ,intosubstantially the aplaneof the.grill member andtthe other component comprising :a support frame inwhich said grill is adapted to be suspended from the arm mem ers, saidspport frame including .a pair of leg frames each being foldabletintoacommon plane, each component comprising a compact unit which canbeconveniently transported. 7

Another principal-feature of this invention resides in providing anoutdoorgrillst-ructure as aforesaid in ;-which each of :the,arm membersof -the gr fllmember are formed aseriesof al-ignednotches andsupport in-(eludes spaced .bars to be received in he notches whereby positions of:the .grill suspended {in the frame may gbe chosen-with -;reference tothe-intensity of-the flame-of the open fire and-to theuunevennessor-slo'pe of theground.

'tIt isrs'tillt another featureaof thisinvention to form the armmembers: fromsspacedubars which provides-lightness aszrwellasestability,..the-barsbeing secured at one end .to ithe ,grillon a.common .pinotaaxis' er; hinge secured at the other end to .a rodextending between the bars, the rod serving as a handle-tfioriadjustingthe grill with respect to the frame and ground ,as well,as for removing the gr ill member firom the frame.

Another feature of this invention resides in constructing the supportframe of a substantially greater width than the width of the grillmember and arm members so that the bars to be received in the notches ofthe arm members permit horizontal displacement in relation to the fireand further, to have one side of the frame open so that the grill memberand arms may be removed with a minimum risk of harm.

These and other objects and features are described in the followingspecification to be read in conjunction with the sheet of drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the outdoor grill structure in itserected state;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the support frame component in itsfolded or dismantled state; and

3,003,494 Patented Oct. 10, 1961 2 RIGURE 3 is .a perspective view ofthe ponent n :its folded or dismantled state. 7

With roferenoe to FIG. 1 of the drawings the outdoor grill structuregenerally .designated at 1 includes a grill unit 2 suspended within asupport frame unit Shaving an open ,side g nerally designated at .4.

grill com- The grill unit 2 comprises ,a grill frame or member gprovided with pivotal support arm formations 6 and a l hinged to the.QPPOS-ite ends thereof. The grill member itself comprises a pairofspacedbars .8 and v9 which have Secured therebetween a plurality of rods10 for supportins c ok ng ten i and the like.

The support arm formations 6 and '7 each are constructed from .a pair ofsubstantially identical rack-like bars ,1l ,',the rack-"like appearancebeing exhibited by .a plurality 16f ali ned notch .torrnatio s 12 whichextend throughout substantially the entire ilength of thebars 5 1:1.Ihenotcfhes 1-12 are so formed in the bars that the longitudinal axis 0fthe notch 12 defines -,an angle withtthe main :of't he bar 11 -with theopening'of the notch projecting downwardly.

Each support armtformation 6 and 7 is provided with a handlelmemberlorrod 14, a nd14', respectively, which is secured to the spaced bars,11 :at their tree LOT =,unattached ends. The arm formations .6 and 7are .secured to the ill'trarne ,5 by means of rods 15 and 1..respefititQIY, the tllbds 15 rand ?16 extending through aperturesin-the bars 8 and 9 and through apertures located in the bars l'1'-comprising lthe formations;

.It e111 be seenltrcm FIGURE 5 that the :grill unit 2 isfoldablellltOflgSllhStfiflb 1y -planar disposition. in order that his may beaccomplished the support formation 7 has been constructed to provide alarger width dimension than :the support arm formation 6 is accomplished:by increasing the length of the pivot v. qt .lendhandlebar -Q1'f130d14' so that the formation'7 en being vfoldedlies overand without the armformation 6. .Spacer means 17 prevent the :displacement of the rod,16'lre1ative to the grill frame 5 ma nt ining the format-ion .7 at alltimes in its prop r t'lispesitiqn .With respect .to the arm f m ion 45-.As best seenin ,1 the bars8 and -9 of the grill frame 5' areformed-withspaced notches 18am 1% respectively, .and are .adaptedtoreceiv the-b rs .14 and 14' on folding of the formationsfi .and into theplanarfdispositiqn for storage .or transportation.

W threferen e-to FIQURES '1 nd 2 of th drawings, th 42m fr m n ll d i nt mprises essenti'ill ia pair .ofglegtfrarnes 20 and 1sl ich arepivotally secured .to .a. braee1-'bar,22 whichextends along one side.The'legframes 20 andt21eachcompriseamair Q its. m mber 11 an Munch-a rigy secured to he h s zsand 1 26, rfespectivel3, intermediately .of their"height. E'ach leg frame is provdedwith a rail rriember wed. an 2,8 .tsrec ivel ww ie i ri idly secured to each of *the legs 23 and 24 andpasses through an aperture formed in the brace bar 22 and secured in amanner enabling each of the leg frames 20 and 21 to pivot relative tothe frame 22.

More particularly, as best seen in FIGURE 2, the leg frame 21 has agreater width than the leg frame 20, the leg member 24 of the leg frame21 being positioned on the opposite side of the brace bar 22, so thatwhen folded the support frame can assume a substantially planarconfiguration. As best seen in FIGURE 2, the leg frame 21 lies withoutthe leg frame 20 in its folded state.

The leg members 24 are further attached to the brace bar 22 by means ofself-locking brackets 29 and 30 which serve to brace and render stablethe support frame in its erected state. The brackets 29 and 30 arefoldable about central pivots 31 and 32, respectively, when the frame isdismantled.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that the structure of theoutdoor cooking grill is of an extremely simple nature and can beerected and dismantled very easily and quickly, the parts being foldableinto a flattened or planar disposition for storage or convenienttransportation.

From the dotted showing in FIGURE 1 it will be appreciated that bygrasping of the rods 14 and 14 of the arm formations the grill structure2 may be raised or lowered to place the grill frame 5 in a desiredposition above the ground and in the proper place to cook food. Also,because of the construction of the grill unit one end may be lowered andthe other end may be raised to accommodate any unevenness or slope inthe ground and thereby present a substantially horizontal grill tosupport utensils. It will also be appreciated that the legs of thesupport frame 3 can be elevated above the ground or driven into theground to additionally level the grill.

The leg frames and 21 have a substantially greater width dimension ascompared with the width of the grill unit 2 in order that the grill unitcan be shifted transversely towards or away from the flame of the fire.

It is also a feature that by constructing the support unit 3 so that ithas a greater width the folded grill structure 2 can be placed Withinthe folded support frame 3 to form a compact unit for transportation orstorage.

Further, by having the support frame open at one side utensils may bewithdrawn and placed on the grill from the side without exposing thehands to the danger of being burned by the flames. Also because of thedisposition of the grill in its suspended state within the frame thereis effected a very stable cooking structure which can support a greaternumber of dishes or cooking utensils.

It will be appreciated that while the preferred embodiment of theinvention has been illustrated and described various other modificationsmay be constructed within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a collapsible grill structure, an open-sided surface-engagingframe including substantially vertically extending side frames, eachpresenting a substantially hori zontal support rail member verticallyspaced from the surface-engaging extremities thereof with each supportrail member arranged in substantially parallel relation to the other,and a generally horizontally disposed grill formation removablysuspended within said open-sided frame, said grill formation having apair of substantially vertically extending arm formations hingedthereto, one at each end, each of said arm formations presenting aseries of vertically spaced horizontally aligned pairs of hookformations of a size and configuration arranged to snugly engage overits respective rail member for selectively suspending said grillformation therefrom over a range of vertical adjustment.

2. In a collapsible grill structure according to claim 1 wherein each ofsaid arm formations comprises a pair of elongated bars arranged inspaced parallel relation and pivotally secured at their lower ends tosaid grill formation, and a handle formation secured between each ofsaid bars at their upper ends, with the vertically extending edges ofsaid bars of each arm formation having said series of vertically spaced,horizontally aligned, downwardly opening notches of a size andconfiguration arranged to snugly engage over its respective rail memher.

3. In a collapsible grill structure according to claim 2 wherein saidgrill formation comprises elongated parallel bar members connected by aplurality of spaced rods extending therebetween at substantially rightangles thereto, the bars of one of said arm formations having aseparation therebetween greater than the separation of said parallel barmembers of said grill formation and pivotally secured to one end thereofto swing from a substantially vertically extending position thereaboveinto a substantially coplanar relation therewith, and the other of saidarm formations having a separation therebetween greater than theseparation of said bars of said first-mentioned arm formation andsecured to the other end of said grill formation to swing from asubstantially vertically extending position thereabove intosubstantially coplanar relation therewith, the parallel bar members ofsaid grill formation each being provided with notch formations toregister with the handle formation of each of said arm formations, onepair of notches of said firstmentioned arm formation being arranged toregister with the handle formation of said second-mentioned armformation.

4. In a collapsible grill structure according to claim 3 wherein spacingmeans are provided between the pivoted ends of the bars of saidsecond-mentioned arm formation and said grill formation whereby saidlatter arm formation is maintained in alignment relative to said grillformation and to said first-mentioned arm formation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 42,879Savier May 24, 1864 744,083 Low Nov. 17, 1903 746,539 Low Dec. 8, 1903829,642 Flandreau Aug. 26, 1906 1,266,244 Fortmann May 14, 19181,271,326 Kivlan July 2, 1918 1,552,479 Goldberg Sept. 8, 1925 2,511,594Loffredo June 13, 1950 2,515,521 Lolfredo July 18, 1950 2,679,243 LeeMay 25, 1954 2,708,925 Cordrey May 24, 1955 2,780,215 Vacanti Feb. 5,1957 2,821,187 Tescula Jan. 28, 1958 2,856,502 Wolf Oct. 14, 1958FOREIGN PATENTS 14,030 Great Britain 1895

